How Much Funeral Home Owners Make: $95K Pay And Profit Model
This US planning view separates funeral home revenue from funeral home owner take-home pay The model uses a $95,000 annual owner salary target, $11,800 in monthly fixed overhead, and Year 1 direct plus variable costs of 275% it excludes personal taxes, guaranteed distributions, and employee funeral director wages
Owner income$95kNet margin73%–77%Revenue for target pay$131kBusiness difficultyHard
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Estimate owner take-home and the target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
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Planning note: Research-based planning estimate only. Not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
What drives owner take-home?
1
Case Volume
$1.49M
More calls turned into more cases is the main cash engine, because it spreads the $11.8K monthly overhead faster and gets the model to breakeven by Month 3.
2
Service Mix
50%-60%
The mix shifts from 60% burial to 50% by Year 5 while cremation rises from 45% to 58%, and that changes labor, prep time, and cash per family.
3
Ancillary Margin
72.5%
Year 1 direct plus variable costs are 27.5%, so merchandise and add-on sales keep most of each dollar and lift owner take-home.
4
Labor Efficiency
2.0 FTE
Licensed labor scales from 0.5 FTE in Year 1 to 2.0 FTE in Year 5, so tight scheduling matters more than adding headcount too early.
5
Fixed Overhead
$11.8K
Facility, prep room, vehicles, insurance, software, and admin run about $11.8K a month, and that fixed load has to be covered before cash starts stacking up.
6
Referral Engine
$220
Year 1 CAC is $220, so preneed, referrals, and community trust help keep acquisition costs down as marketing spend grows from $12K to $45K.
Checking owner income in the Funeral Home model?
If you’re pressure-testing take-home pay, the Funeral Home Financial Model Template shows revenue by service type, owner income, cash flow, and scenario charts. It also ties in the assumptions behind burial, cremation, pre-paid plans, merchandise, COGS, variable costs, fixed overhead, staffing, marketing, and reserves. Open the model to see the planning bridge.
Owner-income model highlights
$95,000 owner salary
Payroll grows to $365,000
Revenue by service type
Overhead stays $11,800 monthly
Marketing rises to $45,000
What funeral home operating costs hit owner income hardest?
For a Funeral Home, payroll hits owner income hardest, and the Year 1 cost map in What Is The Estimated Cost To Open And Launch Your Funeral Home Business? shows that pressure starts at $197,500 and rises to $365,000 by Year 5. Add $7,500 a month for rent or mortgage and $11,800 in total fixed overhead, and cash left for owner pay, reserves, and debt service gets tight fast.
Fixed costs
Payroll is the biggest fixed pressure.
$197,500 in Year 1 payroll.
$365,000 by Year 5.
$7,500 monthly rent or mortgage.
Variable costs
Year 1 direct and variable costs hit 275% of revenue.
Merchandise alone is 170%.
Preparation supplies add 25%.
Fuel, maintenance, and third-party coordination add 80% combined.
How many calls does a funeral home need to be profitable?
A Funeral Home needs about 65 calls in Year 1 to cover $351,100 of payroll, fixed overhead, and marketing before owner distributions; see What Is The Most Important Measure Of Success For Your Funeral Home Business? for how to track that success measure. Here’s the quick math: $7,540 revenue per call × 72.5% contribution margin = about $5,467 per call, and $351,100 / $5,467 = 64.2, so round up to 65 calls. If the owner salary target is $95,000, the same math needs about 18 more calls; a 47-call owner-salary target implies $256,949 of required contribution.
Profit gate
Break-even calls: 65
Revenue per call: $7,540
Contribution per call: $5,467
Covered costs: $351,100
Call quality
Burial work changes margin
Cremation work changes labor
Merchandise adds activity
Pre-paid plans shift timing
How does cremation versus burial profit change owner income?
For a Funeral Home, burial brings more revenue per case but also much more labor, so owner income can be lower if staff time is tight. In Year 1, burial is modeled at 400 hours × $250 = $10,000, while cremation is 150 hours × $200 = $3,000, so cremation can improve income per hour and fit capacity better. Merchandise adds $800 per Year 1 transaction at a 300% attach assumption, and prepaid plans add modeled revenue but not immediate owner take-home without reserve rules.
Burial economics
$10,000 Year 1 revenue
400 hours of labor
More prep and scheduling work
More merchandise exposure
Cremation economics
$3,000 Year 1 revenue
150 hours of labor
Lower priced, but faster to serve
Can fit capacity better
Income drivers
$800 merchandise per case
300% attach assumption
Raises total transaction value
Can support margin mix
Cash caution
Prepaid plans are not cash profit
Reserve rules can hold funds
Funding rules limit take-home
Model income is not owner income
Key Takeaways
About 65 calls cover Year 1 fixed needs.
Burial and cremation margins depend on labor mix.
Merchandise helps only when pricing protects trust.
Payroll, overhead, and preneed drive owner cash.
Compare lean, base, and mature owner-income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income moves fast when call volume, service mix, staffing, and overhead shift. A small change in Year 1 calls or Year 5 costs can change take-home a lot.
Lean, base, and mature income cases for the owner.
Scenario
Lean CaseLean
Base CaseBase
Mature CaseMature
Launch model
Lean case assumes weak volume and owner pay can get squeezed by overhead.
Base case assumes about 65 Year 1 calls and enough gross profit to support the owner salary target.
Mature case assumes stronger volume and a Year 5 cost base, so owner pay has more room.
Typical setup
Fewer than about 47 Year 1 calls, with fixed overhead, non-owner payroll, and marketing still heavy against take-home.
About 65 Year 1 calls, with payroll, fixed overhead, and marketing funding the $95,000 owner salary target before taxes and reserves.
Year 5 staffing, $365,000 payroll, $45,000 marketing, and about 96 calls needed to cover operating costs including owner salary.
Cost drivers
Low call volume
fixed overhead
non-owner payroll
marketing spend
slow pre-paid growth
About 65 Year 1 calls
$351,100 payroll, overhead, and marketing
$95,000 owner salary target
balanced burial and cremation mix
reserves still building
Year 5 cost structure
$365,000 payroll
$45,000 marketing
about 96 calls to cover costs
mix and staffing efficiency
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
Below salary targetLean downside band
$95,000Target income band
Above salary targetMature upside band
Best fit
Use this to stress-test a slow start or softer local demand.
Use this as the main operating case for planning owner pay.
Use this to test upside if volume holds and staffing stays efficient.
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Planning note: These scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Funeral Home Core Six Income Drivers
Case Volume And Fixed-Cost Absorption
Case Volume And Fixed-Cost Absorption
More calls spread $141,600 of annual fixed overhead across more revenue, so owner pay improves only after the business clears payroll, marketing, and the $95,000 salary target. On the current model, break-even is about 65 modeled calls, and each added Year 1 call adds about $5,467 before taxes, debt, and reserves.
That upside only holds if service quality stays tight. If staff schedules, vehicles, chapel capacity, or the preparation room get stretched, extra volume can raise overtime, refunds, and reputation risk. In this business, a higher call count is helpful only when each case still feels careful, timely, and dignified.
Track Calls, Not Just Leads
Measure monthly calls against fixed cost per case: $141,600 ÷ 65 calls is the rough Year 1 load you need to absorb before owner pay starts to feel safe. Track calls by service type, overtime hours, vehicle runs, chapel slots, and prep room use so you can see when volume is helping margin and when it is just adding strain.
Use staffing and schedule rules to protect quality. If call volume rises faster than licensed labor or facility capacity, pause marketing spend, add on-call coverage, or cap bookings by daypart. That keeps the added revenue from leaking into overtime, refunds, and damaged referrals.
Service Mix Across Burial And Cremation
Burial And Cremation Mix
Owner income depends on the mix of full-service burial, cremation, memorial, graveside, direct disposition, and transportation work. In Year 1, burial is modeled at $10,000 per package versus $3,000 for cremation, so the top line changes fast when the case mix shifts. But revenue alone does not tell you profit; labor hours, prep work, merchandise, and local pricing pressure decide the take-home.
By Year 5, burial is about $9,990 and cremation about $2,970 because hours decline while rates rise. That means cremation is not automatically worse and burial is not automatically better. The key metric is gross margin per case and per labor hour, because a higher-priced burial can still pay less if staffing and preparation costs run hot.
Track Margin Per Case
Measure each service line separately: cases, hours, merchandise sold, prep time, and direct labor cost. Use that to see whether burial, cremation, memorial, or transportation work is actually paying for itself. If one package brings in more revenue but takes more staff time, it can still cut owner pay. Here’s the quick math: track revenue ÷ labor hours and gross margin ÷ case.
Split burial and cremation results monthly
Track labor hours by case type
Watch prep and merchandise costs
Test pricing against local demand
Drop low-margin add-ons fast
What this estimate hides is mix risk. If demand shifts toward direct disposition or low-touch cremation, cash may improve only if staffing and vehicle use fall with it. If burial volume rises without tighter scheduling, overtime and prep-room strain can erase the extra revenue. The owner should price for margin per hour, not just package size.
Facility, Prep Room, Vehicles, And Overhead
Fixed Overhead Sets the Pay Line
Facility, prep room, and fleet costs hit every month, whether the phone rings or not. With $7,500 rent or mortgage, $1,200 utilities, $800 insurance, $600 professional services, $450 software and IT, $700 fleet fixed costs, $300 office admin, and $250 communications, fixed overhead is $11,800 per month, or $141,600 a year. That cash burn sets the floor before owner distributions start.
More chapel space, prep room capacity, hearses, and removal vehicles only help if enough calls use them. If rooms or vehicles sit idle, the business still pays the bill, so owner income gets squeezed even when revenue looks fine. Here’s the quick math: capacity without case volume just turns into overhead.
Track Utilization Before You Add Space
Measure monthly calls served, room use, vehicle runs, and overhead as a share of revenue. If those assets are not busy, do not add fixed cost. The key input is simple: can each added dollar of rent, fleet, or software support enough cases to lower cost per call?
Watch for idle time in the chapel, prep room, and vehicles. If utilization is weak, trim hours, delay upgrades, or share assets before owner pay gets crowded out. What this estimate hides is the uneven timing of deaths, so cash needs a buffer even when monthly revenue is strong.
Track overhead by month
Watch room and fleet use
Compare cost per call
Delay upgrades if idle
Staffing Efficiency And Licensed Labor
Licensed Labor Load
Staffing is a direct drain on owner income because the work needs licensed people to stay compliant and keep quality high. In this model, payroll climbs from $197,500 in Year 1 to $365,000 in Year 5, with an owner role at $95,000, a licensed funeral director at $70,000, and an embalmer or preparation specialist at $55,000.
That payroll only works if case volume can support it. If on-call coverage is set too high for actual service load, cash gets trapped in wages instead of owner draw. The goal is not understaffing; it’s matching labor to cases so each staffed shift supports revenue, compliance, and family service.
Match Staff to Case Volume
Track cases per week, on-call hours, and labor cost per case. Also watch the mix of licensed staff: $40,000 for an administrative assistant and $35,000 for an assistant or driver can cover support work without overloading licensed staff. If payroll rises faster than case volume, owner pay gets squeezed fast.
Use a staffing grid tied to actual demand, not fear. Here’s the quick rule: schedule licensed labor for compliance-heavy tasks, and keep admin and driver hours tight around call volume. If one extra licensed shift doesn’t raise case capacity or protect service quality, it’s probably cutting into profit instead of helping it.
Track cases per licensed employee.
Watch overtime and call coverage.
Compare payroll to monthly volume.
Adjust shifts before adding headcount.
Preneed, Reputation, And Community Acquisition
Preneed And Trust
Preneed turns trust into future calls: prearranged plans, online visibility, community ties, and family referrals. In the model, pre-paid plan enrollment rises from 50% in Year 1 to 200% in Year 5, so the business gets steadier volume and better use of staff, chapel time, and vehicles.
The cash side is the catch. Marketing spend rises from $12,000 to $45,000, while CAC falls from $220 to $150; that implies about 55 plans at Year 1 spend and 300 at Year 5 spend. Do not treat every prepaid dollar as owner income, because cash timing, reserves, and funding rules can hold it back.
Track Funded Plans And Reserve Cash
Measure inquiries, booked plans, funded plans, CAC, and the reserve tied to each contract. If online visibility and community referrals lift conversion, owner income improves through lower acquisition cost and more future case flow. If CAC stays above $220, the channel mix is too expensive for the cash it brings in.
Split inquiry, booked, and funded counts.
Hold reserves before owner draw.
Test referral and online channels.
Model owner pay on net cash after required deposits and refunds. If enrollment grows but reserves are thin, the business can look busy and still run short on cash. That is where preneed hurts income: not in revenue, but in timing.
Merchandise And Ancillary Margin
Merchandise Margin
Small add-ons can lift owner pay, but only when families see clear value. In the model, a la carte merchandise brings $800 in Year 1 from 20 hours × $400, then $748 in Year 5 from 17 hours × $440. That is less revenue per case, so the margin question matters more than the top line.
The cost side is the real test. Merchandise COGS drops from 170% of revenue in Year 1 to 150% in Year 5, so the line item improves, but it still puts pressure on cash if pricing is weak. Here’s the quick math: better margin helps owner draw only if upsell time stays low and trust stays intact.
Price For Trust, Then Track Attach Rate
Measure attach rate (the share of cases buying merchandise), average sale per case, labor hours, and merchandise COGS as a percent of revenue. If the menu is confusing, families buy less and staff spend more time selling, which cuts take-home income. Keep choices simple, explain pricing up front, and watch what families actually select.
Track revenue per case weekly.
Watch COGS against sales.
Limit selling time per family.
Flag trust complaints fast.
What this estimate hides: aggressive selling can lift one case but hurt referrals later. If add-ons raise cash without pushing families, owner income improves faster than volume alone because each case carries more margin and less wasted labor.
